Questioning Sanity
by Allen the Musician
Summary: Sequel to Captain, My Captain. Having been a member of Squad Ten for a short time Toushirou Hitsugaya has come to one conclusion. His captain was absolutely, certifiably insane. There was no other way to describe the man. Pre-series.


Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Questioning Sanity

Toushirou Hitsugaya had only been a member of Squad Ten for a couple of weeks and already he was contemplating what he could possibly have done in life or after to have deserved such a fate. The duties of a full-fledged Shinigami were much the way that he had imagined them to be and Hitsugaya didn't have a problem with any of his responsibilities. Based on his placement test he had been named as the third seat officer of the squad but his duties were overall not really that difficult. Nothing that he couldn't handle.

The problem was his captain.

Isshin Shiba, Captain of Squad Ten, was absolutely out of his mind.

This thought had popped into his mind the moment that Hitsugaya had met the man however the young prodigy had shrugged it off as a one time thing. He wasn't big on first impressions since he himself had the tendency to portray a different personality when he first met people but after a couple of weeks of putting up with the man's erratic behavior he was convinced. There was simply not enough excuses to deal with the man's erratic behavior.

The man should be committed to a mental institution.

"Oi Shiro-chan!"

Hitsugaya cringed as he heard his superior call out to him, using that obnoxious nickname. The young white haired prodigy had thought that he had escaped that nickname when Hinamori had agreed not to use it anymore but unfortunately he had been mistaken.

Woefully mistaken.

Now his captain insisted upon using it and it wasn't as though he could very well tell the man to stop. No matter how much he might want to etiquette dictated that he show his superior officer the respect that was due to someone of his station.

No matter how much he might want to do otherwise.

"What is it Captain?" Hitsugaya asked as he reluctantly turned to face the man.

Isshin shook his head as he made his way across the courtyard to the spot where his young subordinate was standing. The Squad Ten Captain had been on his way to his office when he had spied Hitsugaya standing in the courtyard, seemingly lost in thought. As always when he saw the child he couldn't help picking a fight. He had no idea why someone so young insisted on acting so stuffy and proper all the time and he was making it his mission in life to get the kid to act like what he was.

A kid.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be so formal before it sinks in Shiro-chan?" Isshin gazed at the white haired child with a strange expression in his eyes. "I mean everyone told me that you were a prodigy so it really shouldn't be that hard for you to remember."

"I remember," Hitsugaya said in a somewhat irritated tone of voice, watching as his captain walked toward him.

"So you're just choosing not to listen huh?" Isshin arched one eyebrow at his young subordinate. He knew that he had the boy with this one and he thoroughly enjoyed watching the thought process that flashed behind those intelligent teal eyes.

"No... I... um..."

Isshin enjoyed the flustered look that appeared on the kid's face and he couldn't help but laugh at the child who always tried so hard to act like an adult. "You know Shiro-chan, all joking aside you really do try way too hard. Why not act your age every now and then?"

Hitsugaya scoffed, rolling his teal eyes toward the sky. This man may be his captain but he didn't know anything. And more to the point he was completely and utterly insane. "Why would I do something like that?"

Isshin shook his head and gave up on the kid for the time being. He would eventually get Toushirou Hitsugaya to act more his age. It was only a matter of time and finding out the correct method for coaxing the child out of him. "Never mind Shiro-chan. Go about your duties."

And with this Isshin continued on his way. The Captain of Squad Ten made his way to the office that he shared with his vice-captain, Rangiku Matsumoto, and he was somewhat surprised to find his subordinate actually in the office. This was somewhat of a rare occurrence since she had an aversion to paperwork that was known far and wide throughout the Seireitei.

"Captain!" she called out in an excited voice as he entered the office.

"Hello Rangiku," Isshin said as he walked across the office and sat down at his desk. Now, truth be told, he didn't really care much for the administrative side of his job but he was resigned to the fact that he had to do it. And it made him even more resolved to get his young subordinate to act his age while he was still able to. For he was certain that Toushirou Hitsugaya would achieve great things and then he would be forced to be responsible and would no longer have the opportunity to be a child.

"Hey Rangiku," Isshin said as he reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a stack of papers.

"Yea?" Matsumoto said, glancing back at her captain over her shoulder.

"I want you to promise me something," Isshin said.

"What is it?" Matsumoto asked, putting down her magazine and giving her full and undivided attention to her captain. It was so rare for him to make a request that this phrase immediately got her attention. She was curious what was causing this rare, serious side of him to emerge.

"If something were to happen to me I want you to promise me that you will keep trying to get Shiro-chan to act his age every once in awhile," Isshin said, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

"I promise captain," Matsumoto said, thinking back to the white haired child who had recently joined their squad. He was always so serious and she, too, longed to see a smile on his face and the light of happiness within those teal eyes.

A/N - short little one-shot companion to Captain, My Captain. And before anyone asks, the reason why Isshin's last name is Shiba is because I don't believe that it was originally Kurosaki. I think that was probably Masaki's and that he took it once they married. If not then someone would have made the connection between he and Ichigo. Anyway that's my theory. Hope that you enjoyed reading, feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you thought. And I'm looking for ideas for a new Bleach fanfic so if you have any suggestions feel free to share. Thanks again.


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